It would be a big blow to the Twins if Joe Mauer isn’t ready for the playoffs. He has a bum knee right now. Mauer has played in 133 games for the Twins this year and he is 165 of 499 (.331 avg, .880 OPS) with 88 runs scored, 9 homers and 74 RBIs. With Justin Morneau likely to miss the post-season the Twins can’t afford to be without Mauer too. Mauer’s backups are Drew Butera and Jose Morales and it’s a huge dropoff if the Twins have to play one of them. Butera is a solid defensive catcher but he can’t hit. Butera has played in 45 games so far this year and he is 25 of 132 (.189 avg, .528 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 2 homers and 11 RBIs. Jose Morales is a much better hitter than Butera but he’s a poor defensive catcher. Morales has played in 16 games for the Twins this year and he is 6 of 28 (.214 avg, .564 OPS) with 3 runs scored and 7 RBIs. The Twins will have a hard time advancing against the Rays or Yankees without Mauer.

25-year old righty swinging rookie 3B Danny Valencia wasn’t supposed to be the starting 3B of the Twins in 2010. Injuries opened up a spot for him and he never gave the job back. Valencia has played in 73 games for the Twins this year and he is 84 of 251 (.335 avg, .847 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 5 homers, 34 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Twins will likely keep Valencia as the starting 3B as long as he keeps hitting which means he will be the starting 3B when the 2011 season begins.

With Justin Morneau missing the last 2/3 of the 2010 season for the Twins they needed someone to step up with the bat. 24-year old righty swinging outfielder Delmon Young and 39-year old lefty swinging DH Jim Thome have been the guys who have stepped up. Young has played in 135 games for the Twins this year and he is 149 of 501 (.297 avg, .805 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 16 homers, 98 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Young’s first couple of years he looked lost with the Twins but the light appears to have come on with him and in a nick of time. Jim Thome has played in 98 games for the Twins this year and he is 69 of 249 (.277 avg, 1.040 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 23 homers and 54 RBIs. When Thome signed on with the Twins he couldn’t have anticipated getting as much P.T. as he has in 2010 but he’s proving to still have a lot left in the gas tank. Young & Thome are two of the big reasons that the Twins have a 85-58 record which has them 6 games up on the White Sox in the Central Division. The Twins are also only 2 games back of the Rays for the best record in the A.L.

26-year old lefty starting pitcher Francisco Liriano is all the way back for the Minnesota Twins after a couple of wasted years due to elbow problems. Liriano has pitched in 26 games (all starts) for the Twins this year and he is 12-7 with a 3.27 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. He has whiffed 178 batters in only 165 1/3 innings while only giving up 154 hits showing just what kind of stuff he has. He has already set new career highs in games started (26), innings pitched (165 1/3) and strikeouts (178) so far this year. He also has tied his career high in wins with 12. Hopefully this year was just the tip of the iceberg for Liriano who has the best stuff of any Twins’ starting pitcher.

The Twins have designated 27-year old righty starter/reliever Matt Fox for assignment. Fox pitched in 35 games (21 starts) in AAA-ball for the Twins this year and he was 6-9 with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. He got a no-decision in his major league debut for the Twins last week in which he worked 5 2/3 innings allowing 4 hits, 2 earned runs, allowing 1 walk and he didn’t whiff any batters. The Twins have called up 22-year old lefty swinging outfielder Ben Revere to take Fox’ spot on the roster. Revere played in 94 games in AA-ball this year for the Twins and he was 110 of 361 (.305 avg, .734 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 1 homer, 23 RBIs and 36 stolen bases. He has now played in 348 games in his four years in the minors and he is 446 of 1,358 (.328 avg, .801 OPS) with 216 runs scored, 4 homers, 143 RBIs and 146 stolen bases. Revere was the Twins’ #5 prospect when the 2010 season began according to Baseball America.

UPDATE: (9/10/2010) - The Twins have lost Matt Fox on waivers to the Red Sox.